The following recent updates in U.S. District Court in Portland involve an extended sentence for a man on new charges of machine gun and drug possession and an inmate at Bolduc Correctional Facility who filed a complaint against the state claiming he is not receiving kosher meals.

Thomaston man sentenced to additional time in prison for possessing a machine gun and drugs

A Thomaston man was sentenced Dec. 22 in U.S. District Court in Portland to an additional month in prison for the new charges of possessing a machine gun and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  

Charles Breen, 35, was sentenced by Judge John Woodcock to serve an additional month in prison to time already served. Breen will be on supervised release for three years after he serves his sentence. He is also ordered to complete 500 hours of a comprehensive drug treatment program.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine, in January 2025, Breen had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to unlawful possessing a machine gun and possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute. He was been held at the Two Bridges Jail in Wiscasset since January 2025 pending his sentencing on Dec. 22.

According to court records, in April 2024, the Thomaston Police Department received a tip that Breen was selling drugs behind a local business. A search of his vehicle revealed a firearm modified with a machine gun conversion device equipped with a 50-round magazine, 9mm ammunition, a large amount of cash, approximately 62 grams of cocaine, approximately 5 grams of methamphetamine, and at least 6 grams of fentanyl.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case with assistance from the Thomaston Police Department.

In a letter to the court before his sentencing, Breen apologized for his actions and said he was struggled with drugs and addiction. A letter from a jail official at the Two Bridges Jail stated that Breen has been successful in a work program at the facility and has no disciplinary issues.

Inmate at Bolduc Correctional Facility has filed a complaint claiming he is not provided kosher meals

An inmate at the Bolduc Correctional Facility filed a complaint against the Maine Department Corrections Officers in U.S. District Court in Portland claiming the state is not providing him kosher meals.  

Scott Dorn, 24, filed his complaint on Dec. 29.

Dorn said in his complaint that he has filed grievances with the state which were denied and he cannot appeal the denials according to the state’s policies.

“By refusing to process plaintiff’s grievances or allow appeals, MDOC made the grievance process unavailable,” said Dorn in the complaint.

He said that he has followed a kosher diet his entire life as part of his sincerely held religious beliefs

Dorn is requesting a preliminary injunction ordering the state to provide kosher meals during the pending litigation of the case. He is claiming that the daily denial of kosher meals is causing him irreparable harm to his religious exercise.

Dorn is serving a sentence at the prison for robbing four convenience stores in the Bangor area.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com